Ding Dong The Barn is DONE!

Such a relief! The barn is done. We can finish moving everything over, including the animals and we won't be stretched between two places anymore! Praise be to the Lord!

Goatlings on the Farm

I love having goatlings, they are absolutely the best! They are so cute and sweet, and they frolick everywhere they go.

The Farm Animals

It's been a while since I just shared the antics and personalities of our farm animals. Let's begin with the goats.

Failings

Well, we've had some unexpected developments around our homestead.

The goats dried up.

God Food, Good Food

I am, have been, and will be, trying to define our diet. I hesitate to even name it because I'm leaning toward calling it food. But perhaps that's not so well defined these days? Especially when you look at all the available diets.

Wanna meet our goats?

Hey! I figured out how to record video on my camera, so I decided to show y'all the babies. They are getting so big now! (Mostly because they are greedy and try to take all of our milk!)

Milk-Maiding

Every morning, I get up, gather my supplies, change into my dirty jeans and ratty shirt, and head outside. Sometimes I take Gideon, if Jeremy isn't here, or Eowyn if Jeremy is here.

So....Raw Milk

You know how I was worried about drinking raw goat milk?

Our Second Kidding!

This one was easier and harder than Sissy's. When the vet came back out to check the goats' TB tests, we opened up the barn to find Pippy on the floor with a very swollen hind end. We both said, "oh, she's about to kid!" This was on Thursday.

The New Nubians

Sissy's boy, and also the only buckling. He was the first born too. The kids love him, he's a sweetie. They call him Gregor.

Our First Kidding

Is it normal to feel so raw and ragged after a goat kidding? I am exhausted, elated, and worn thin. I feel as if I've been through all the emotions of labor and delivery, but without the expected rest afterward, or the baby to sit around and nurse.

Putting Down a Floor & Moving Goats in

It's funny how fast and busy those weeks off are, isn't it? Jeremy took a week of vacation time to get some homestead work done because we were getting behind. He's working his regular full-time job, and working at Spring Lake Family Farms a lot to get that business up and running. It's going so well, but the homestead work was getting pushed to the wayside. And we needed to play catch up because we have babies coming!

Milk Fever & Mistakes

I noticed the goats' milk sacks had filled up about 2 and half weeks ago, and I also noticed that Sissy had diarrhea, but thought it would resolve itself. Since I know how irregular I am when pregnant. But then one day I went out to feed them, and Sissy was down. And she didn't get up to eat the food I brought out. I knew something was wrong then. Goats eat when there is food. So I started calling for help.

Instructions to my Mom

Hey Mom, we're going out of town to visit Jeremy's family, and, well, would you please take care of the animals for us? They won't be any trouble, I'm sure. Here's how to do it:

Firstly, you'll want to wear a jimmy jacket with the hood up. No worries! It'll just keep you a little safer...

The Nesting Buckets that Jeremy Built

We've had a few days here and there when the rain has stopped and the mud has dried up. (But don't worry, the mud doesn't get so dry that it turns back into dirt before it starts raining again.) One night during a dry spell, I mentioned (for the 50th time) that we needed to get some kind of nesting boxes set up in the new coop to Jeremy.

Goat Ed.

Honestly y'all, I'm still trying to process what all happened today. And I'm trying to figure out how to tell about it. It was awful, terrifying, horrifying, and soooo embarrassing all at the same time.

We got the billy today.

Chickens in the Coop

Moving the pullets into the new coop was the fun part. They were getting quite cramped in their little box. We had added another kennel to give them more room during the day, but they needed a lot more space.

The News Around Here...

Ah-ha! (That was said triumphantly, not like I just found something. Just wanted to be clear.) I'm back! And I survived school starting. Woohoo! We had a great first full week, loved it all and now we're spending the weekend resting and doing whatever it is we want to do.

A Hen and Her Chicks

If you're a regular reader, you might already know this, but I need to explain something before I begin. Our chicken George is a hen. She was the largest chick, so we all thought she might be a rooster, but she's not. She was also the only one of her kind, which we now know is an Easter Egger, so the name just stuck. I always get funny looks when I say George had some babies. But she did!

Changing Flocks

So chickens. Our flock now has 4 Rhode Island Reds, one Easter Egger, and what I assume is a Buff Orpington, although I'm really not sure. And Sunny the rooster is some sort of bantam. It's a mixed flock and has done exceptionally well for us. They provide us with 6 eggs a day, Sunny is the best rooster I've ever seen, and they generally take care of themselves.